by Joshua Hook | Feb 28, 2020 | Purity
I recently read an interesting book by Richard Beck called “Unclean.” In the book, he explores how Christians focus a lot on purity. He also says this focus on purity might be a problem. The Problem with Purity The main idea is that when Christians focus...
by Joshua Hook | Feb 12, 2020 | Happiness
My wife and I just finished watching a fascinating documentary called “Wild, Wild Country.” It follows the story of a cult called the Rajneeshees, who travel from India and settle in Antelope, Oregon, where they build a commune (basically a small town) from scratch....
by Joshua Hook | Feb 5, 2020 | Religion/Spirituality
As much as possible, I try not to argue about religion or theology. It’s not that I don’t think it’s important. On the contrary, I think it’s critical to think about and question what we believe about deep and important matters such as whether God exists, what God is...
by Joshua Hook | Jan 17, 2020 | Family
I was talking with a friend, and she expressed sadness about the lack of support she was feeling from her family of origin. She and her husband were thinking about having kids, and my friend felt like they would be all alone in that process. She had an idea of what...
by Joshua Hook | Oct 28, 2019 | Love
I recently listened to a talk by Eugene Cho, and he shared something that was quite impactful for me. He held up a $100 bill in his hand, and asked the audience if they wanted it. Everyone said yes. Then he crumpled up the $100 bill, and asked the audience if they...
by Joshua Hook | Oct 26, 2019 | Rules
Awhile back, my class at church went through the book of Luke. At the beginning of Chapter 6, two stories are presented about Jesus and the Sabbath. Working on the Sabbath In the first story, some of Jesus’ followers were hungry, so they picked some grain and ate it....
by Joshua Hook | Sep 29, 2019 | Love
The other day, I had the opportunity to hear Bob Goff speak. For those of you who don’t know Bob, he’s the author of one of my favorite books, “Love Does.” (If you haven’t read it, check it out!) Bob has a lot of energy and is a great storyteller. It was awesome to...
by Joshua Hook | Sep 11, 2019 | Sex
I have written in a previous post about a problem that occurs when Christians focus too much on purity—it can hinder our ability to love. Problems With Sexual Development Today I want to talk about another problem I have noticed sometimes when there is a very strong...
by Joshua Hook | Jun 12, 2019 | Faith
I’m reading an interesting book by Peter Enns called “The Sin of Certainty.” The basic idea is that as Christians, we often define faith as being certain that what we believe is true. I could connect with this. As a kid growing up in the church, what mattered most was...
by Joshua Hook | May 29, 2019 | Diversity
It’s important to give people space for their own journey. So often we want to push people to see things from our perspective. But this strategy doesn’t usually work. Religion and Sexuality Here’s an example that happened in my own life: One issue I...
